Retrospective

These are the women who loved him.
Who never forget to mention his name.
Who keep him alive by the stories they tell,
by their shared ambition to keep his rock star status.
They want you to know him like they did —
his name, his face, deft hands and brilliant mind.

These are the women who loved him.
Who build monuments from life ruins
secreted away in family troves and
hearts that beat beneath layers of time.
They want you to know him like they did —
father, friend, lover; painter, poet, paragon.

These are the women who loved him.
Who never forget him,
who tell his stories,
who build his monuments,
who want you to know him like they did.
These are the women who loved him —
and in them is born his eternity.

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Words ©2014, Jen Payne.
Image: vintage mourning photo courtesy of Pinterest.

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